1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to that type of shelving systems in which the shelving is formed largely of metal rods welded together and comprising, basically, uprights and shelves adapted to be separably assembled to produce shelving of selected length, height, depth, and with shelves in any desired number and vertical spacing. Shelving of this type is widely used in institutions such as hospitals, to provide sanitary supports for laundry or the like; in food service establishments, for supporting food products while assuring maximum visibility and cleanliness; and in a wide variety of manufacturing or other commercial establishments, to support replacement parts, warehoused or temporarily stored articles, documents, catalog items, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Shelving systems of the character described are, in and of themselves, well known. Typical of this type of shelving is the device disclosed, by way of example, in Kesilman et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,735; or Maslow U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,816. These patents, as is true also of the present invention, are concerned mainly with the provision of separable couplings or connections between the uprights and the shelves. They have, however, deficiencies which the present invention seeks to materially reduce or, eliminate in their entirety.
In prior art devices such as, for example, that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,735, it is necessary to cock or tilt the shelf during assembly, a feature regarded as undesirable in that excessive vertical space is required above the shelf being mounted, extreme care must be taken in positioning the shelf at the particular, tilted position preliminary to mounting, and undue care must also be exerted during the pivotal movement of the shelf to its final position. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,816 the same is true. In both of these patents, which are typical of the prior art, locking tabs are bent to face outwardly of the shelving structure, and by swinging of the shelf to its final position are disposable between side-by-side post elements so that a post element is confined between an outwardly facing locking tab and an adjacent abutment portion of the corner of the shelf.
In the prior art as typically represented by these patents, further, the outward facing of the locking tabs is regarded as undesirable in that the tabs represent under these circumstances projections that can snag articles or the clothing of workers. Still further, locking arrangements characteristic of the prior art are undesirably costly and complicated, adding materially to the cost of the shelving system.